Environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, SEO/BirdLife and WWF, along with government bodies addressing the National Plan’s response to the economic and social impacts of the war in Ukraine, stress the need to protect biodiversity while expanding renewable energy. They argue that renewable projects should be directed to locations where environmental harm can be minimized, including urbanized, buildable, or industrial zones, among others.
However, these organizations emphasize that the new streamlined process for approving renewable power plants should not apply to areas where ecological damage could be severe or irreversible. They also insist that citizen participation must be guaranteed from the outset of environmental assessments, in line with European Union regulations and the Aarhus Convention.
The five groups warn that a lack of guarantees could push the process toward fast-tracking approvals for onshore renewables (up to 150 MW for solar and up to 75 MW for wind) in regions with low to moderate environmental sensitivity. This concerns a Royal Decree implemented to address the war shock plan, whose validity is expected to be reviewed soon by the Congress of Deputies.
behind the people
In the current narrative, the proposed process, if implemented without early citizen involvement, could allow a renewable electricity project to proceed without the environmental impact assessment typically required, even when a due diligence report is warranted. The areas defined as low to medium environmental sensitivity by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge would guide such decisions.
This approach could open the door to authorizing projects with significant environmental footprints without essential guarantees for public consultation and impact assessment.
Wind power towers rise over a farm landscape in a striking image of the debate.
Experts fear that the framework will become especially relevant in moderately sensitive areas that host habitats of community importance or crucial areas for conserving endangered species, such as the Iberian imperial eagle, Cantabrian capercaillie, or at-risk agro-steppe species like bustards and quail. If the Royal Decree remains as drafted, the new procedure might endanger these already threatened zones.
Environmental NGOs call for the new procedure to be restricted to areas of low environmental sensitivity, explicitly excluding protected natural areas and zones of high ecological value, including wetlands listed in the national inventory and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA). They also highlight that the proposed changes would eliminate citizen participation at the outset, potentially conflicting with EU environmental impact regulations that require genuine public involvement from the very beginning.
Forced expropriations without guarantee
In response, environmental NGOs urge the government to restore a proper public hearing process to assess project impacts and to share evaluations with the public administration before decisions are made.
Without such guarantees, projects with clear environmental risks could advance, risking forced expropriations without sound procedural protections or a voice for affected communities at the right moment.
NGOs argue that urgent changes are needed to prevent a pattern of renewable deployment that undermines biodiversity and erodes environmental safeguards across the country.
Solar panels line up in another field as the debate intensifies over how best to balance clean energy with ecological preservation.
For more than two years, NGOs have pressed central and regional governments to plan renewable development with clear maps identifying restricted and priority areas, especially on urban or developable land and industrial sites.
To date, tools to keep developers away from more environmentally sensitive areas remain insufficient. The combined effect of bureaucratic delays and a potential uptick in projects rejected for environmental reasons adds pressure on the biodiversity spectrum and risks slowing the energy transition.
Thus, the proposed express procedure is seen by many as a risk to the environment. It could also hamper the country’s progress in addressing climate change.
WWF, SEO/BirdLife, Greenpeace, Ecologistas en Acción, and Friends of the Earth urge the government and parliament to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels and nuclear power and to invest in savings, efficiency, and renewable energy.